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St Louis Cardinals: Walden Good to Go for Spring

By Chris Olszewski

Apr 29, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Jordan Walden (53) pitches against the Philadelphia Phillies in the eight inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 29, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Jordan Walden (53) pitches against the Philadelphia Phillies in the eight inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /
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St Louis Cardinals’ other piece in the Heyward trade missed most of 2015.

According to MLB.com, St Louis Cardinals reliever Jordan Walden should be a full participant in spring training. Walden missed most of 2015 with a shoulder injury sustained on April 30. Even without Walden, the Cardinals still finished third in baseball with a 2.82 bullpen ERA. In 12 appearances at setup, Walden posted a 0.87 ERA in 2015.

There is still an air of uncertainty surrounding Walden’s injury; in lieu of undergoing surgery to repair his shoulder, Walden chose to rehab the injury instead. Going forward, Walden’s health will be in question throughout the season. Walden’s injury forced GM John Mozeliak to come up with a back up plan in the form of Jonathan Broxton, who was re-signed to a two-year contract this offseason, and all-time Korean saves leader Seung-hwan Oh, also signed this offseason.

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Walden has been in the majors for seven years; he spent the first three with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim before pitching in for the Atlanta Braves. As mentioned before, he was part of the trade that brought Jason Heyward to the St Louis Cardinals, and is now the only player to stay on for the 2016 season after Heyward left for the Chicago Cubs.

With Walden’s return, the Cardinals’ bullpen figures to be even better. Manager Mike Matheny, notoriously bad at bullpen management as he may be, is spoiled for riches with the bullpen he has coming into spring training. Alongside Walden, Broxton, and Oh, Matheny also has Kevin Siegrist and Seth Maness at disposal, and’s before getting to Trevor Rosenthal, who was a consistently great closer last year. The St Louis Cardinals bullpen once again figures to be one of the best in baseball, and Cardinal fans can only hope that Walden is a full member of that staff.

Next: Missouri Tigers DL Coach Chris Wilson Bolts for Philadelphia

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